Restaurants often provide meal takeout and delivery services. A customer may call a restaurant or use a device such as a computer or smartphone to order a meal. If the customer orders the meal for takeout, the customer visits the restaurant to pick up the meal. If the customer orders the meal for delivery, the restaurant delivers the meal to the location of the customer.
One issue with food takeout and delivery services is the time lag in delivering or fulfilling a meal order. People tend to place their orders when they become hungry, but the meals may not arrive until quite some time later.